Abstract
Juniper is an evergreen perennial shrub with strong antioxidant properties. This chapter describes the botany, history, producing regions, flavor and aroma, parts used, and active constituents. The chapter also highlights the uses of juniper in different recipes around the world. Juniper extracts and oils are used in alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages. Juniper has been reported to have carminative, anti-inflammatory, diuretic, fungicide, anticholinesterase, antimicrobial, antibacterial, and antioxidant properties. Finally the medicinal uses, functional properties, and antioxidant properties of juniper are discussed in great detail.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Acuna UM, Atha DE, Ma J, Nee MH, Kennelly EJ (2002) Antioxidant capacities of ten edible North American plants. Phytother Res 16(1):63–65
Al-Mustafa AH, Al-Thunibat OY (2008) Antioxidant activity of some Jordanian medicinal plants used traditionally for treatment of diabetes. Pak J Biol Sci 11(3):351–358
Angioni A, Barra A, Russo MT, Coroneo V, Dessi S, Cabras P (2003) Chemical composition of the essential oils of Juniperus from ripe and unripe berries and leaves and their antimicrobial activity. J Agric Food Chem 51(10):3073–3078
Burits M, Asres K, Bucar F (2001) The antioxidant activity of the essential oils of Artemisia afra, Artemisia abyssinica and Juniperus procera. Phytother Res 15(2):103–108
Carroll JF, Tabanca N, Kramer M, Elejalde NM, Wedge DE, Bernier UR, Coy M, Becnel JJ, Demirci B, Baser KH, Zhang J, Zhang S (2011) Essential oils of Cupressus funebris, Juniperus communis, and J. chinensis (Cupressaceae) as repellents against ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) and mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) and as toxicants against mosquitoes. J Vector Ecol 36(2):258–268
De Marino S, Cattaneo F, Festa C, Zollo F, Iaccio A, Ammendola R, Incollingo F, Iorizzi M (2011) Imbricatolic acid from Juniperus communis L. prevents cell cycle progression in CaLu-6 cells. Planta Med 77(16):1822–1828
Dzharullaeva SSh (2009) Phytochemical investigation of Juniper rufescens leaves and fruits. Georgian Med News (168):107–111
El-Ghorab A, Shaaban HA, El-Massry KF, Shibamoto T (2008) Chemical composition of volatile extract and biological activities of volatile and less-volatile extracts of juniper berry (Juniperus drupacea L.) fruit. J Agric Food Chem 56(13):5021–5025
Ennajar M, Bouajila J, Lebrihi A, Mathieu F, Abderraba M, Raies A, Romdhane M (2009) Chemical composition and antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of essential oils and various extracts of Juniperus phoenicea L. (Cupressacees). J Food Sci 74:M364–M371
Ennajar M, Bouajila J, Lebrihi A, Mathieu F, Savagnac A, Abderraba M, Raies A, Romdhane M (2010) The influence of organ, season and drying method on chemical composition and antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of Juniperus phoenicea L. essential oils. J Sci Food Agric 90:462–470
Ennajar M, Afloulous S, Romdhane M, Ibrahim H, Cazaux S, Abderraba M, Raies A, Bouajila J (2011) Influence of the process, season, and origin on volatile composition and antioxidant activity of Juniperus phoenicea L. leaves essential oils. J Food Sci 76:C224–C230
Filipowicz N, Kaminski M, Kurlenda J, Asztemborska M, Ochocka JR (2003) Antibacterial and antifungal activity of juniper berry oil and its selected components. Phytother Res 17(3):227–231
Gordien AY, Gray AI, Franzblau SG, Seidel V (2009) Antimycobacterial terpenoids from Juniperus communis L. (Cuppressaceae). J Ethnopharmacol 126(3):500–505
Lawrence HA, Palombo EA (2009) Activity of essential oils against Bacillus subtilis spores. J Microbiol Biotechnol 19(12):1590–1595
Lim JP, Song YC, Kim JW, Ku CH, Eun JS, Leem KH, Kim DK (2002) Free radical scavengers from the heartwood of Juniperus chinensis. Arch Pharm Res 25(4):449–452
Marino A, Bellinghieri V, Nostro A, Miceli N, Taviano MF, Guvenc A, Bisignano G (2010) In vitro effect of branch extracts of Juniperus species from Turkey on Staphylococcus aureus biofilm. FEMS Immunol Med Microbiol 59(3):470–476
Martz F, Peltola R, Fontanay S, Duval RE, Julkunen-Tiitto R, Stark S (2009) Effect of latitude and altitude on the terpenoid and soluble phenolic composition of juniper (Juniperus communis) needles and evaluation of their antibacterial activity in the boreal zone. J Agric Food Chem 57(20):9575–9584
Miceli N, Trovato A, Dugo P, Cacciola F, Donato P, Marino A, Bellinghieri V, La Barbera TM, Guvenç A, Taviano MF (2009) Comparative analysis of flavonoid profile, antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of the berries of Juniperus communis L. var. communis and Juniperus communis L. var. saxatilis Pall. from Turkey. J Agric Food Chem 57:6570–6577
Miceli N, Trovato A, Marino A, Bellinghieri V, Melchini A, Dugo P, Cacciola F, Donato P, Mondello L, Guvenç A, De Pasquale R, Taviano MF (2011) Phenolic composition and biological activities of Juniperus drupacea Labill. berries from Turkey. Food Chem Toxicol 49:2600–2608
Neves A, Rosa S, Gonçalves J, Rufino A, Judas F, Salgueiro L, Lopes MC, Cavaleiro C, Mendes AF (2010) Screening of five essential oils for identification of potential inhibitors of IL-1-induced Nf-kappaB activation and NO production in human chondrocytes: characterization of the inhibitory activity of alpha-pinene. Planta Med 76:303–308
Orav A, Kailas T, Muurisepp M (2010) Chemical investigation of the essential oil from berries and needles of common juniper (Juniperus communis L.) growing wild in Estonia. Nat Prod Res 24(19):1789–1799
Orhan N, Orhan IE, Ergun F (2011) Insights into cholinesterase inhibitory and antioxidant activities of five Juniperus species. Food Chem Toxicol 49(9):2305–2312
Ozturk M, Tumen I, Ugur A, Aydogmus-Ozturk F, Topcu G (2011) Evaluation of fruit extracts of six Turkish Juniperus species for their antioxidant, anticholinesterase and antimicrobial activities. J Sci Food Agric 91(5):867–876
Pepeljnjak S, Kosalec I, Kalodera Z, Blazevic N (2005) Antimicrobial activity of juniper berry essential oil (Juniperus communis L., Cupressaceae). Acta Pharm 55(4):417–422
Samoylenko V, Dunbar DC, Gafur MA, Khan SI, Ross SA, Mossa JS, El-Feraly FS, Tekwani BL, Bosselaers J, Muhammad I (2008) Antiparasitic, nematicidal and antifouling constituents from Juniperus berries. Phytother Res 22(12):1570–1576
Schepetkin IA, Faulkner CL, Nelson-Overton LK, Wiley JA, Quinn MT (2005) Macrophage immunomodulatory activity of polysaccharides isolated from Juniperus scopolorum. Int Immunopharmacol 5(13–14):1783–1799
Taviano MF, Marino A, Trovato A, Bellinghieri V, La Barbera TM, Guvenc A, Hurkul MM, Pasquale RD, Miceli N (2011) Antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of branches extracts of five Juniperus species from Turkey. Pharm Biol 49:1014–1022
Wanner J, Schmidt E, Bail S, Jirovetz L, Buchbauer G, Gochev V, Girova T, Atanasova T, Stoyanova A (2010) Chemical composition and antibacterial activity of selected essential oils and some of their main compounds. Nat Prod Commun 5(9):1359–1364
Wei A, Shibamoto T (2007) Antioxidant activities and volatile constituents of various essential oils. J Agric Food Chem 55(5):1737–1742
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2012 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Charles, D.J. (2012). Juniper. In: Antioxidant Properties of Spices, Herbs and Other Sources. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-4310-0_32
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-4310-0_32
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-4309-4
Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-4310-0
eBook Packages: Chemistry and Materials ScienceChemistry and Material Science (R0)